Physisorbed, multilayer films of the fullerene C.sub.60 have exhibited interesting mechanical, electrical, electrochemical, and optical properties. Such physisorbed fullerene films have been formed on substrates by the well known Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique and by the solution evaporation technique using C.sub.60 solutions (e.g. C.sub.60 dissolved in non-polar organic solvents such as benzene, toluene, etc.). Such physisorbed films also have been formed by thermal evaporation of solid phase fullerenes onto a suitable substrate.
However, in order to exploit the potentially useful properties of fullerene films, there is a need for a method of forming covalently bound mono- and multi-layer film structures of fullerenes on insulating, semiconducting, and metallic substrates.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of forming monolayer and multilayer fullerene film structures on substrates chemically treated to provide a bond-forming species at the surface for covalently bonding with fullerenes in solution.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of forming monolayer and multilayer fullerene film structures on substrates from a solution of fullerenes chemically modified to covalently bond with a treated substrate.
It is still another object of the invention to provide substrates having fullerene monolayer and multilayer film structures covalently bonded thereto.